Scottish Executive

Autism

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made in identifying the causes of autism.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Chief Scientist Office (CSO), within the Scottish Executive Health Department, has responsibility for encouraging and supporting research into health and health care needs in Scotland. The CSO is contributing £0.25 million to the £2.75 million which the Medical Research Council (MRC) has been given to take forward the research agenda set out in the MRC Review of Autism. The MRC has organised four fora to encourage interested, eligible researchers to submit high quality proposals for research in areas that have been highlighted in the review.

Care of Elderly People

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the Department for Work and Pensions about the reasons for not paying attendance allowance to self-funding residents in care homes who would receive the allowance if resident in their own homes.

John Swinburne (Central Scotland) (SSCUP): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Her Majesty’s Government about the estimated loss of £20 million attendance allowance to self-funding care home residents in Scotland since the introduction of free personal care in 2002.

John Swinburne (Central Scotland) (SSCUP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take in respect of self-funding care home residents who are not entitled to attendance allowance in addition to free personal care, given that residents in their own homes are entitled to it.

Mr Tom McCabe: Prior to the introduction of free personal care on 1 July 2002, the Scottish Executive explored the issue of eligibility for attendance allowance thoroughly with the UK Government. As a result the Scottish Executive set free personal care payments for those in care homes at a level which allowed for the withdrawal of attendance allowance in those cases.

Dentistry

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether its proposed assessment of the reasons for the shortfall in the number of dentists, as referred to in A Partnership for a Better Scotland , will create the need for a new workforce plan for dentistry, updated from the plan produced in February 2002.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive outlined in the 2000 Dental Workforce Report that workforce planning was a dynamic process intertwined with service redesign and workforce development. Whilst the action plan identified in 2000 will start to impact by 2005, an updated Dental Workforce Report will be published in 2003-04 to reflect the changing service need.

  In the past year the National Workforce Unit and the National Workforce Committee have been established as part of the Scottish Executive’s workforce development strategy. These bodies are now working with NHSScotland to develop new approaches to the way NHSScotland plans, develops and utilises its workforce at a national, regional and local level.

Enterprise

Mr Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what new steps it will take to reduce levels of business closures.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Enterprise Networks provide a wide range of assistance to businesses, which is aimed to help more new businesses get started and existing businesses to grow. The networks’ support for businesses focuses on a number of specific areas to improve companies’ competitiveness and commercial viability. These include:

  Management Development

  Market Development

  Technology Development

  Skills Development

  Investor Readiness

  Direct Investment

  This assistance is consistent with the strategic priority accorded to "Growing Businesses", one of the three key areas for economic development identified in A Smart, Successful Scotland.

Europe

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the status is of the agreement between it and the Regional Government of Tuscany, announced in its news release SEfm196/2003 of 19 June 2003, and, in particular, whether there are any penalties associated with non-compliance with any provision of the agreement.

Tavish Scott: The action plan, signed on 19 June 2003 by the First Minister and President Martini of Tuscany, builds on the Co-operation Agreement concluded with Tuscany in November 2002. The action plan sets out some of the specific areas on which Tuscany and Scotland will co-operate. Neither the action plan nor the agreement is a legally binding document and there are no penalties associated with non-compliance.

Health

Marilyn Livingstone (Kirkcaldy) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to reduce last-minute cancellations of surgical procedures.

Malcolm Chisholm: NHSScotland is working to minimise cancellations of planned hospital admissions for in-patient and day case treatment. Managing Waiting Times – A Good Practice Guide, which was published on 13 June 2003, provides guidance to hospitals on the effective management of hospital admissions and recommends that they should monitor and review cancellations and, where appropriate, set performance improvement targets.

  Cancellations as a percentage of planned hospital admissions for in-patient or day case treatment is one of the indicators in the Performance Assessment Framework (PAF). The PAF supports self-assessment by NHS trusts and performance management of them by NHS boards. It also enables the Scottish Executive to hold NHS boards to account for their performance via the annual Accountability Review process.

Health

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases of measles, mumps and rubella there have been in the Forth Valley NHS Board area in each of the last five years.

Malcolm Chisholm: There have been no reports of confirmed measles, mumps or rubella in the Forth Valley NHS Board area in any of the last five years.

Health

Mr Bruce McFee (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it first became aware of the decision by Argyll and Clyde NHS Board to withdraw emergency and complex major surgery from the Vale of Leven Hospital from 1 October 2003 and which other agencies were consulted about the decision.

Malcolm Chisholm: I was made aware of the decision to engage the contingency plans at the Vale of Leven Hospital shortly after it was made at the meeting of Argyll and Clyde NHS Board on 12 May.

  NHS Argyll and Clyde NHS Board are currently working on a new clinical services strategy for the whole NHS board area and I have been assured that comprehensive public engagement and consultation will inform this. That said, I am told that the contingency plans were designed with local clinician and Scottish Ambulance Service involvement.

Health

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which new drugs have been licensed for use over the last 12 months and which NHS boards have included these drugs in their formulary.

Malcolm Chisholm: The licensing of medicines is a reserved matter and is the responsibility of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). Information about the agency and its work can be found at www.mhra.gov.uk.

  The agency has advised that the following drugs containing new active substances have been granted UK marketing authorisations since 1 June 2002:

  Varilrix vaccine; Flucis injection; Migard tablets; Fromig tablets; Puvasoralen capsules; Zyfetor capsules; Avodart capsules; Loterox eye drops; Avelox tablets; Octegra tablets; Crestor 10mg, 20mg, 40mg tablets.

  Medicines can also be licensed through the European Commission. Information about the EC licensing system can be found on the website of the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products at www.emea.eu.int.

  Information on which NHS boards have included these drugs in their formularies is not held centrally. The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) provides advice to NHS boards about newly licensed medicines as soon as possible after the product is marketed. We would expect boards to take into account any advice and evidence from the SMC and ensure that recommended medicines are made available to meet clinical need. Further information about the SMC can be found on www.htbs.co.uk/smc.

Health

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what initiatives it will introduce as part of workforce planning within the NHS in order to enable equal access across Scotland to free eye and dental checks for all, as referred to in  A Partnership for a Better Scotland.

Mr Tom McCabe: Free dental checks for all are one of the factors in planning the dental workforce. However, other changes can equally impact on the service demand and workforce and these have been taken into account in modelling work which is currently being undertaken by NHS Education for Scotland.

  The Executive already has in place a number of measures aimed at improving access to NHS general dental services and will continue to discuss further measures with the dental profession.

  On free eye checks, preliminary discussions have been held with Optometry Scotland, who represent the profession in Scotland.

Holyrood Project

Dennis Canavan (Falkirk West): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the investigation into the Holyrood building project, led by Lord Fraser of Carmyllie, will have the power to summon witnesses.

Mr Jack McConnell: Lord Fraser has made clear his view that he can secure the co-operation of those whom he wishes to question, without a power to compel to attend, and he has not sought such a power.

Hospital-Acquired Infection

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-735 by Malcolm Chisholm on 23 June 2003, what steps it will take to refer the drug cefuroxime to NHS Quality Improvement Scotland in order to commission research into the drug's effectiveness in the treatment of MRSA, ensure full investigation of its performance to date in the treatment of prior, or existing, cases of MRSA and, until such time as the investigation is completed, issue guidelines on the use of cefuroxime in future cases.

Malcolm Chisholm: It would be inappropriate to refer cefuroxime to NHS Quality Improvement Scotland. Cefuroxime is not generally recommended as a treatment for MRSA, and its use in patients with MRSA would normally be avoided. An exception to this might be that a patient was suffering from a second infectious organism, sensitive to cefuroxime, which might justify its use.

  The Scottish Executive is undertaking work to improve antimicrobial prescribing. One of the aims is to reduce the creation of drug-resistant bacterial strains such as MRSA. The Scottish Medicines Consortium, facilitated by NHS Quality Improvement Scotland is assisting in taking this work forward.

Hospital-Acquired Infection

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-733 by Malcolm Chisholm on 23 June 2003, what steps will be taken to ensure that compliance with clear hand hygiene policies forms part of a systematic review by NHS trusts.

Malcolm Chisholm: NHS Quality Improvement Scotland (NHS QIS) provided individual reports to all trusts and boards on their performance against the infection control standards, including compliance with hand hygiene, in January this year. The Health Department has written to trusts and boards requiring them to act on the findings of the reports and to copy their action plans to the department.

  The Healthcare Associated Infection Task Force led by the Chief Medical Officer is developing a Code of Practice for management in NHSScotland, including compliance management.

  NHS QIS will conduct a further review of infection control standards in 2004.

Learning Disabilities

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans there are to ensure that the findings of Sheriff Dunbar on 7 March 2003 in the fatal accident inquiry into the death of James Mauchland are adopted by all NHS boards and hospitals.

Malcolm Chisholm: We are committed to constant improvement in the care and support of people with learning disabilities. Lessons have been drawn from the fatal accident inquiry report, including training needs and first aid equipment.

  The inquiry report findings will inform the future organisation of care and I look to NHS Scotland to have regard to and apply the recommendations for change made within the inquiry findings. The Deputy Chief Medical Officer has already written to NHS Scotland drawing attention to the recommendations, which include aspects of communications, general nurse training and awareness of individual needs, all issues that go to the core of good in patient care.

  In addition, a Health Needs Assessment Report for people with learning disabilities is expected to be published by NHS Health Scotland in the autumn. This is looking at the measures that will be required from the health service and their partners to ensure the health needs of people with learning disabilities are better met in the future.

NHS Staff

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what systems are in place to monitor the working hours of NHS staff employed by an (a) NHS trust both under a primary contract and in its in-house bank and (b) agency under contract to the NHS.

Malcolm Chisholm: All employers (including NHS trusts, NHS boards and private agencies) must comply with the working time regulations. The regulations require that all NHSScotland employers keep adequate records on compliance with the working time regulations.

  NHS HDL (2003) 3, issued by the Executive to NHSScotland employers on 7 February 2003, asks all NHSScotland employers to hold documentary evidence to confirm compliance with the working time regulations for all their staff. This could be made available to staff if requested in accordance with the Data Protection Act.

  Information on the systems in place in each NHS organisation is not held centrally.

NHS Waiting Times

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the waiting times are for a referral from a GP to a psychiatrist.

Malcolm Chisholm: In the year ending 31 March 2003, the median waiting time for a first out-patient appointment with a consultant in the speciality of psychiatry following referral from a GP was 29 days.

  The £4.5 million investment in the Doing Well by People with Depression will engage service users, carers, clinical leaders and staff in the redesign and improved use of resources to provide better care with improved and timely access to evidence-based intervention including referral to psychiatrists where appropriate.

Radioactive Waste

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2F-84 by Mr Jack McConnell on 12 June 2003, how many responses it has received to its consultation on a long-term solution for the management of radioactive waste and when the consultation will be completed.

Ross Finnie: The Executive received 25 responses to the consultation document Managing Radioactive Waste Safely: proposals for developing a policy for managing solid radioactive waste in the UK , which ran from 12 September 2001 to 12 March 2002. The consultation was undertaken jointly with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the devolved administrations for Wales and Northern Ireland. Three hundred and thirty responses were received in total across the UK, and Managing Radioactive Waste Safely: Summary of responses to the consultation September 2001 - March 2002 was published in July 2002 and was placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 22822) at the time.

  I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-27786 on 29 July 2002 which announced how we planned to take forward jointly the consultation process, including the establishment of an independent body to oversee the review of waste options and make recommendations to ministers. The Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM) is currently being established and we recently announced the appointment of Katharine Bryan to the position of Chair of CoRWM. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Renewable Energy

Alex Johnstone (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to introduce a scheme equivalent to the Energy Crops Scheme.

Ross Finnie: We have no such plans at present.

Schools

Miss Annabel Goldie (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the school infrastructure within the Inverclyde Council area is of an acceptable standard to provide a modern and congenial environment for children and staff.

Peter Peacock: Inverclyde Council’s assessment prior to May 2003 was that the school estate in Inverclyde required both rationalisation and significant investment in new and refurbished school buildings. They were developing a Public Private Partnership proposal designed to address those issues, following the Scottish Executive’s provisional award of financial support in July 2002 based on the Outline Business Case the council submitted in December 2001. We await with interest the approach which the new council will take to addressing the clear and major needs identified.

  Building our Future – Scotland’s School Estate, produced jointly by the Scottish Executive and COSLA and published in February 2003, sets out the strategic framework for the improvement of Scotland’s school estate over the long term and a vision of well designed, well built and well managed schools. Change is already under way. The strategy is complemented by a commitment of resources for the biggest ever school building programme in Scotland. This includes financial support for Public Private Partnership projects, in addition to the substantial other capital resources available to local authorities.

Schools

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when additional community schools will be operational in the Clydesdale constituency.

Peter Peacock: The roll-out of the integrated community schools approach across the schools in each local authority area is a matter for individual education authorities and their partner agencies to determine in the light of local needs and circumstances.

  I understand that Integrated Children’s Services Area Bases have been set up in four schools in South Lanarkshire – Ballerup High School, Blantyre High School, Woodpark Primary School and Cathkin High School. From these bases multi-disciplinary teams will roll out the integrated community schools approach, focussing initially on the host school clusters but extending their work to other clusters in subsequent years.

Special Educational Needs

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many records of needs have been opened since 1999, broken down by local authority area.

Peter Peacock: The total number of records of needs open at September each year from 1999 to 2001, broken down by local authority area, is available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre in the following publications:

  The summary results of the 1999 school census (Bib. number 20194)

  The summary results of the 2000 school census (Bib. number 20197)

  The summary results of the 2001 school census (Bib. number 22064).

  The number of records of needs newly opened each year is a matter for local authorities. The information requested is not held centrally.

Special Educational Needs

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average cost is of opening records of needs in (a) each local authority area and (b) Scotland.

Peter Peacock: The average cost of opening a record of needs is a matter for local authorities. The information requested is not held centrally.

Teachers

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the revised disciplinary framework for teachers agreed by the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers on 27 February 2003 is being uniformly applied by education authorities.

Peter Peacock: The implementation of the revised disciplinary framework for teachers is a matter for the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers. The revised procedures set out a framework within which there are some elements for local negotiation.

Teachers

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will monitor the application of the revised disciplinary framework for teachers agreed by the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers on 27 February 2003.

Peter Peacock: The Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers intends monitoring local agreements. The committee has yet to consider the precise methodology it will use in doing so.

Teachers

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which education authorities have not revised the details of their disciplinary procedures for teachers following the revised disciplinary framework agreed by the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers on 27 February 2003.

Peter Peacock: Details of individual authority procedures are not held centrally. As part of its workplan for academic session 2003-04, the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers intends to monitor all local agreements.

Teachers

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to monitor procedures used by education authorities in relation to disciplining, removing or transferring head teachers.

Peter Peacock: Education authority disciplinary procedures apply to all teaching staff. The Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers intends to monitor local agreements including those on discipline.

Teachers

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to monitor breaches by education authorities in the spirit and practice of the revised disciplinary procedures for teachers agreed by the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers on 27 February 2003.

Peter Peacock: The implementation of the new disciplinary arrangements for teachers are a matter for the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT) which intends monitoring local agreements. No breaches in the procedures have been brought to the attention of the SNCT.

Teachers

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to monitor action taken by education authorities to protect promoted school staff from victimisation by their subordinates.

Peter Peacock: The victimisation of any member of teaching staff is a matter for the education authority as employer and we have no plans to monitor this issue.

Vaccines

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance or instructions it has issued to GPs on publicising the availability of mercury-free injections for children and what the reasons are for its position on the matter.

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking directly, or indirectly, to publicise the availability of mercury-free injections for children and what the reasons are for its position on the matter.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Deputy Chief Medical Officer’s letter to health professionals, including general practitioners, on 14 January 2003 made clear that parents are entitled to know if thiomersal is contained in vaccines available to them, and the reasons for this. The letter also provided various research references to facilitate discussion with parents.

  More generally, as GPs are aware, any final decision about the immunisation of a child requires the informed consent of a parent or guardian. In that process, it is appropriate for general practitioners to make available information on why a particular product is recommended, while recognising that it is open to parents to request, and doctors to provide, an alternative vaccine, which is available through the NHS.

Water Industry

Marilyn Livingstone (Kirkcaldy) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what reports it has received regarding odour emissions from the new sewerage treatment works beside Kirkcaldy Harbour.

Allan Wilson: Following correspondence from a member of the public in May 2002 about this issue, Scottish Executive officials asked Scottish Water to provide information on the position at Kirkcaldy to enable a reply to be made. This is the only such correspondence received by the Executive on this matter.

  This is, of course, an operational matter for Scottish Water. I have asked Dr Jon Hargreaves, Chief Executive of Scottish Water to respond. His response is as follows:

  Scottish Water is having on-going discussions with residents of the area and thoroughly investigating any smell complaints. At this time the plant is working efficiently and there have not been any reports of smells since the beginning of June. Scottish Water is again meeting residents in August and in the meantime asks that residents contact the customer helpline on 0845 601 8855 if they notice any smells.

Water Industry

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether Scottish Water is making adequate progress towards achieving the efficiency savings identified in the Water Industry Commissioner for Scotland’s Strategic Review of Charges 2002-06 .

Ross Finnie: Scottish Water’s progress in its first year and in the first year of the review period can only be determined once audited accounts are available. The Water Industry Commissioner will review performance in his next cost and performance report.

Water Industry

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures will be taken by Scottish Water in the next two years to meet the revenue cap identified in the Water Industry Commissioner for Scotland’s Strategic Review of Charges 2002-06 .

Ross Finnie: The revenue caps set by ministers for 2003-04 and 2005-06 determines the maximum amount of income that may be raised by Scottish Water through charges. Scottish Water and the Water Industry Commissioner are responsible for setting individual charges for customers.